The 7 Most Important Visual Components of a Brand

As you now know, after reading my post Branding, Say What last week, the visual component of a brand isn’t the most important aspect, BUT it is what initially draws people in.

Think about it…if you pulled up to a store that looked crazy from the outside, like it was decaying and the sign was falling down, would you go into the store?

I most definitely wouldn’t, for fear that something shady was going down inside.

Ultimately, when it comes to your business presence online your Visual Identity DOES matter.

I don’t know how many times I didn’t purchase something because a link didn’t work, because the website was crazy with psychedelic colors and was overwhelming cluttered, or even because the business still had Lorem Ipsum somewhere on their site (come on people, pay attention to the details, please?).

For sake of convenience for you all out there who are overwhelmingly busy and a little distracted day to day (maybe by the stacks of dishes overflowing the sink, if you are anything like me), I’ve made a list of the 7 most important visual components of a brand. These are the things you must pay attention to when it comes to your visual identity. If your brand is suffering in one of the areas listed below, take it one day at a time and make some small tweaks until you’ve finally made it speak to your overall brand values.

7 Visual Components

1. Logo- Your logo is how people will recognize you in various places on the web (or off the web, too if you have a brick and mortar store). Make sure your logo is apparent on every social channel and on your website itself. This is where brand recognition begins.

**And because I feel it is so important…please make sure your logo means something. Don’t just slap something together so you can start making money today. Think about what your business means, what it values, then build your logo based around that.**

2. Fonts- Whatever you do, please make your fonts legible. If people can’t read what you are putting out there, they are going to walk away. Make it easy for your customers. After the legibility factor, then you can start to play with fun, interesting fonts that speak to your ideal client. Whatever you do, though, limit your fonts to about 3 different fonts so as not to overwhelm people.

3. Colors- Again, try to refrain from using an overwhelming amount of colors on your website or in any of your custom designed pieces that you use on the web. Try to stay consistent so that you can build brand recognition with your fans. 

4. Website- This is, for the most part, your storefront. Think of your website as your store, where people would walk in to buy your goods or services. Make sure the store is stocked and that the walls aren’t bare. Taking care of your website will give the impression that you are legit. Don’t neglect it.

5. Marketing/Promotional Pieces- This could be your business cards or pamphlets that you give out when networking in person, but online it can also consist in the form of advertisements (such as Facebook ads) or just the photos and visuals you share on social media. Pay attention to the size and formats of the things you post to make sure that you have a great, pro image coming across to your potential clients. 

6. Video- Seriously, if you haven’t started with video…do it now. I mean, picture going into a store that just had a photo of the sales person up on the counter. Would you rather speak to just a photo or to the real deal? What if you had a question? I know I’d like to see the person, and not just read everything all the time.

People make purchase decisions a lot more emotionally nowadays. They want to know the person behind the business. Video is the best way for someone to get to know you, your personality, and even your staff if you have one. This is a shortcut to them getting to know you quickly. Start with an About Video, then build around that.

7. Photography- Try to include a photo (or a visual of some sort) with every blog post, and at least one photo per page. People need some sort of visual reference and photography helps to break up long lengthy text. If you want to make your photography consistent with your brand identity, then make sure you keep elements such as color and pattern the same or consistent throughout. 

Where is your Visual Branding lacking? Leave a comment below to let me know where you are going to take some action!